Category Archives: Fishing News

Quick salmon fishing report from upstate, NY. Zach took a break from fishing in NJ and headed to upstate NY to fish for salmon, where he’s apparently doing really well (didn’t anyone really doubt it). Head on over to our Round Valley Facebook page for updates and photos as they happen.

Zach took a break from NJ fishing and headed to upstate NY for some Salmon fishing. Looks like he’s doing well!

The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife will be hosting a free 2-day Hooked on Fishing-Not on Drugs (HOFNOD) training on November 14-16 at the Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education in Waretown (Ocean Co.). The training is for adult staff and volunteers of youth-centered community and/or faith-based organizations, as well as schools, looking to offer an ongoing or year-round youth fishing, conservation and aquatic education program.

Taking kids fishing can be an enjoyable experience if you keep it simple and stay patient.

New Jersey’s “Hooked on Fishing-Not on Drugs” Program provides a great opportunity to get kids involved in positive recreational activities. Growing up in a big city, my parents saw value in having me spend my summers outdoors enjoying nature. These experiences afforded me the chance to discover that there is more to the world and my role in it than what the concrete jungle has to offer. Likewise, the goal of this program is to introduce youth to the fun and excitement of fishing, and to engage them in meaningful life skills, so that they also can imagine unlimited possibilities for themselves.

Well, after a brief hiatus from fishing for a few weeks I got out this past Sunday (August 17, 2014) and fished in Behre Bait & Tackle’s 1st Annual Howie Behre Memorial Round Valley Lake Trout Tournament. Since this tournament was a team tournament, I brought Chelsey Hoover on board with me for the day for her first time trolling out on Round Valley, as well as her first fishing tournament. This tournament was run with the winner being determined by the total weight of one 7-fish bag limit (six fish 15-23.99-inches, and one fish greater than or equal to 24-inches) per boat, which is different than the Round Valley Trout Association fishing tournaments I usually fish at Round Valley where the biggest fish wins. This difference in rules made it anyones game in who had a shot at the money in the tournament, but added the challenge of consistently catching fish throughout the tournament. Personally, I like the tournament being based off of the total weight of all seven fish rather than just one fish seeing as anyone can get lucky and catch one big fish, while catching a limit of several decent fish requires more skill in my opinion.

Our six rod spread for the day.

Anyway, Chelsey and I were up at 2:00 a.m. the morning of and at Behre Bait & Tackle by 3:00 a.m. to grab some Herring for the day and get the boat ready. We managed to get the boat in the water a little before the start of the tournament, and once 4:30 a.m. hit we were off! Since it was still dark when the tournament started we motored over to where I wanted to start trolling for the day, turned the motor off, got some Herring on the bottom to kill some time before it got light out, and got all our lures on our trolling rods so we were ready to troll once it got light out. Then a little after 6:00 a.m. we began to troll and started off in fairly shallow water (60-75 feet) at this point since Lakers go shallower to feed at night and in early morning. Since we were fishing in a Lake Trout tournament, I decided to run two rods off the back and two off of planer boards for Lakers; all with 10 colors of lead core out. I also had two additional planer boards out with 5 colors of lead core out for Rainbows and Browns. Within 10 minutes since we started trolling, we got our first fish on the line which ended up being a 3-lb Lake Trout that hit a meathead in 65 feet of water. After we got that fish in the net, it was non stop action for the next 15-20 minutes, by the end of which we landed four Lake Trout. Out of those four; we caught one on a meathead, two on Warrior Spoons, and one that came up and hit a Rapala we had out for Rainbows behind five colors of lead core. During this, Chelsey reeled in her very first Lake Trout, which also happened to be our biggest fish of the day; 3.75-lbs!

Chelsey Hoover with her very first Lake Trout, as well as our biggest fish of the day! It weighed in at 3.75-lbs.

After that first pass, the wind started to kick up enough where trolling back up against it was starting to become a bit of a challenge. So we decided to anchor up in 95-feet of water and drop some Herring down to the bottom to wait and see if the wind would die down. After about an hour of that with nothing producing for us, we decided to shoot up to the south tower and anchor off of there. Though that was also short lived and after about another 45 minutes of that with nothing, the wind died down a bit so we started trolling down the south shore in 75-100 feet of water. Since the wind was still just strong enough to make trolling back up against it frustrating, I decided to just troll down with the wind and then motor back up against it so we could troll back down with it again. This turned out to be a good decision since at some points we were able to put the motor into neutral and have the wind push us along at trolling speed (1.2-1.5 mph). At the end of our second to last pass down the south shore, Chelsey was reeling in our last line before we motored back up against the wind and actually had a Lake Trout smack the spoon half way up, and we landed our 5th fish of the day. After that, we were running out of time before we had to be back at the bait shop since we had to cut our day a little short so we could make it to a concert out in the Meadowlands. So we decided to make one last pass down the south shore, and picked up one last Laker on a Warrior Spoon to give us an even bag limit of six fish.

Chelsey Hoover and I with our six Lake Trout after the weigh in; we had a total weight of a little over 16-lbs.

After we got the boat on the trailer and out of the water, we headed back to Behre Bait & Tackle to weigh in and to eat some food at the BBQ and pig roast that was also being held at the shop for the tournament. We ended up in 9th place with a total weight of a little over 16-lbs, so we didn’t place in the tournament, but we still had a great day of fishing regardless! Thanks to Behre Bait & Tackle for putting on a great tournament, and a special thanks to the owner James Behre for letting us take his boat out to fish the tournament! The tournament went great, and I’m looking forward to fishing it again next year.

Strategy for the day:

Fishing method:

Trolling Lead core

Trolling Speed:

1.2-1.5 mph

Depth:

60-100 feet of water

Lures of choice:

Warrior Spoons

Little Warrior Spoons; work great for Lake Trout, Rainbows, and Browns.

BlackFly Lodge introduces a new pink skiff to raise awareness for CfR’s national fly fishing retreats for women with breast cancer

Casting For Recovery provides an opportunity for women whose lives have been profoundly affected by Breast Cancer to gather in a natural setting and learn the sport of fly fishing.

Manchester, VT – 31 March 2014, Casting for Recovery, a non-profit organization offering support and educational retreats for women with breast cancer is excited to be honored by BlackFly Lodge, a Bahamas based fly fishing operation that commissioned a pink skiff to raise awareness of breast cancer and Casting for Recovery (CfR). This new boat will be used for guided fly fishing trips in the Bahamas and will feature the Casting for Recovery logo. This is the fifth boat that has a theme at BlackFly Lodge and it will be used for general guided trips as well as special trips hosted by fly fishing professionals.

Clint Kemp, managing partner of BlackFly Lodge, called on East Cape Skiffs to build the custom boat as a tribute to his aunt, Rochelle McCabe, who has just completed her breast cancer treatments in Orlando. The boat will serve as a constant reminder of the struggle endured by many and a source of hope that one day a cure for breast cancer will be discovered. BlackFly Lodge also donated a fishing trip that will be auctioned at CfR’s annual Cast One for Hope national fundraiser in Montana in October.

“There are so many great organizations doing amazing work with breast cancer and it is our privilege to partner with Casting for Recovery,” says Clint Kemp managing partner of BlackFlyLodge. “We hope that the pink skiff will bring greater awareness to the work and mission of CfR and every name that is signed under her hatches will be a testimony to love and hope.”

“We are honored to be part of the creation of this boat and the journey it is about to embark on,” says Casting for Recovery executive director Whitney Milhoan. “This stunning boat will be a great reminder that so many people are touched by breast cancer and we are excited to follow it, chronicle its journeys and see how many lives it touches. Here at CfR we strive to create awareness and spread the love of fly fishing and that is exactly what this boat will do in the Bahamas and beyond.”

For more information on Casting for Recovery or to donate please visit: CastingforRecovery.org or contact Holly Calloway at Holly.Calloway@castingforrecovery.org

ABOUT
Casting for Recovery® (CfR) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1996 by two women — a breast reconstructive surgeon and a professional fly fisher. CfR’s unique program combines breast cancer education and peer support with the therapeutic sport of fly fishing. The retreats offer opportunities for women to find inspiration, discover renewed energy for life and experience healing connections with other women and nature. CfR’s retreats are open to breast cancer survivors of all ages, in all stages of treatment and recovery, and are free to participants.
CastingforRecovery.org | Facebook.com/castingforrecovery